City watch. Urban development.

Rush St. Deli Eaten Up By Progress

March 01, 1995|By Allie Shah, Tribune Staff Writer.

Known for its homestyle food and Cheers-like atmosphere, Moe's Deli/Pub at 611 N. Rush St. has closed after 21 years. In a slice of the sort of change that is both mourned and celebrated, the deli is in one of the buildings being displaced for an upscale shopping complex on North Michigan Avenue.

Among the others is Rocky's Barber Shop, at 100 E. Ohio St., which also closed last week.

Replacing Moe's Deli/Pub and the adjacent small businesses in the building at 100 E. Ohio St. just north of the Marriott Hotel, will be a four-story mall with eight cinemas.

FOR THE RECORD - Additional material published March 2, 1995:Corrections and clarifications.A story on Wednesday about the closing of Moe's Deli/Pub said that Rocky's Barber Shop, in the 100 E. Ohio St. building, is also closing. The barber shop is relocating to 160 E. Illinois St., Suite 301. The Tribune regrets the error.

"The whole block is coming down," marveled Moe Tucker, who runs the restaurant along with his daughter, Teri. "I'm really going to miss it."

The deli will not relocate. "I'm a little too old to do this again," said Tucker, who is in his 70s. Customers and neighbors will likely miss Moe himself, a small man with a large presence, who did everything from greeting customers to slicing corned beef. An Air Force gunner during World War II, he covered one wall of the deli with photos of fighter jets.

His shoulders slightly stooped, he was neatly dressed on the establishment's last day in a white turtleneck and gray wool pants, his silver hair topped by a baseball cap bearing the words, "Just say Mo."

Many will miss the cozy pub, one of the few neighborhood spots left just north of the Chicago River.

"I think it added a lot of character to the area," said Lisa Stevens, a first-time customer who had long heard about Moe's and decided to try it Friday for lunch. "Everything else is so Gold Coast-like and then there's Moe's."

Stevens was especially disappointed that she discovered the restaurant so late. "I just had a turkey and pastrami sandwich. And honestly, it was the best sandwich I've ever had, and now I'll never be able to get it again," she said.

"I'm just sick about it," said Azalea O'Brien, a regular at Moe's. "I first came here in 1982 and I've never stopped.

"And I always sat in this corner," she said, patting the leather barstool protectively.

Although O'Brien was saddened by the closing of Moe's, she approves of the overall changes to North Michigan Avenue and the surrounding area.

"I feel bad about Moe's because of what it's meant to me," she said. "But as far as Michigan Avenue, I love it! It's beautiful what they've done." Even Tucker agreed. "I think North Michigan Avenue is a beautiful site," he said.

As for the razing of his building, he accepts it as a sign of the times. "I guess it's good for the modern world," he said. "Most of these buildings could be restored, but in this country, we want everything to be bigger, newer."

Teri Tucker shared his sentiments. "It's business, it's development," she said. "I love Chicago and I love Michigan Avenue. I've spent a lot of money shopping at those new places. And I understand that things have to change and this is progress."

"From my office I used to be able to see the Hancock. And now it's just Chicago Place right there in front of me," said Sally Garneski, a customer who works at the nearby American College of Surgeons. "It's getting a bit claustrophobic."

Moe Tucker doesn't have any definite plans. For now, he said he will take it easy in Chicago, his hometown. His wife, who helped open the deli, died a number of years ago. Teri Tucker will become the district manager for bw-3, a Cincinnati-based restaurant chain.

He is proud of his restaurant. "There's no other deli like ours in the city of Chicago," he said.